Chapter 8: Yilgarn

Jaeger took off his helmet and set it on his seat as his canopy slowly rose, then he hopped out of his cockpit, his boots hitting the ground with a thud. Immediately, the heat hit him like a wall. It was hot, humid, like a summer’s day in a swamp. His flight suit already felt stifling, and so he shed it, stripping down to the Navy uniform that he wore beneath it and stowing it alongside the helmet.

Baker was exiting his Beewolf behind him, and he heard the hydraulic hiss of a landing ramp opening, looking to his right to see that the dropships were unloading their cargo. Humans in yellow uniforms that identified them as engineers jogged down the ramps, carrying crates and boxes. They were followed by personnel dressed in Navy blue, probably the advisors that Fielding had talked about. A pair of Krell lumbered down one of the ramps wearing armored ponchos in Marine black, large automatic XMRs hanging from their chests on slings, and truly massive riot shields slung across their scaly backs. They were set up for security detail, clearly. There were no Borealan guards, which in his opinion, was a wise choice. It wasn’t worth the risk of an incident when the ever gentle and friendly Krell could do the same job. That said, the sixteen-foot-long, eight-foot-tall reptiles were going to have some serious problems navigating a city that was built for a species that was only five feet at the most.

There were Valbarans nearby, soldiers, they looked like. They were wearing the same full-faced helmets that Maza and her friends had worn on the Rorke, but their camouflaged jumpsuits were armored, and they were wearing plate carriers and pads to protect their vitals. He noted that their colors were green and purple, rather than the blue and grey that Maza wore, more suited for ground combat in their strangely colored forests no doubt. Each one was holding a rifle with a blocky, plastic housing and what looked like a large flashlight for a barrel, with a long-range scope mounted on top. Those were probably portable laser weapons. They were lined up in rows, disciplined, as much a firing line as a welcoming committee. Jaeger couldn’t blame them for being cautious.

“So, what do you think?” he heard. Maza made her way over from her parked ship, her helmet clasped under her arm and her four companions following behind her. She reached up to pat him on the arm, turning to face the line of soldiers, Baker appearing at his left with a wide grin on his face.

“It’s hot,” Jaeger replied.

She laughed, then composed herself, standing to attention as a Valbaran parted the line of soldiers. This one wasn’t wearing a jumpsuit, but rather a remarkably normal pair of what almost resembled bike shorts that reached its knees, along with a billowy shirt like a tunic. Everything was made from light, flowing material in muted colors, decorated with geometric patterns. His eyes roamed down to its forearms, and just as he had suspected, he could see two more feather sheaths like those on their heads. They were wound around its arms like vines. Its feet were bare, only the uniformed Valbarans with blue camo were wearing boots that covered their lower legs, a component of their pressure suits. The ones wearing green and purple were also barefoot, exposing a pair of wicked talons that tipped their two toes. He didn’t fancy taking a kick from one of those.

The alien stopped before them, clasping its hands together and extending its feathers like fans, sprouting from its head and forearms in a flash of red plumes.

“Welcome to Yilgarn, Earth’nay.”

“You speak English?” Jaeger asked, surprised.

“Yes, Maza’xol’natuih and her flock have compiled an extensive database on your language, which we have been studying in preparation for your arrival. My name is Netza’cui’atl, I am Ensi of this city along with my fellow council members, what you might call a mayor or a councilman.”

Jaeger saluted, and after a moment, Baker did the same. It was the closest equivalent to the respectful feather displays of the aliens that they had. The other UNN personnel were arriving now, and Jaeger was surprised to see Campbell among them. They shared a glance, the engineer looked even more surly than usual.

“I didn’t expect to see you down here,” Jaeger said.

“Yeah, well, someone has to supervise this mess. We have to overhaul the technology of an entire civilization, and we might only have days or weeks to do it. Unfortunately, I’m the most qualified.”

“I’m sure you’ll do a sterling job,” Baker whispered, Campbell scowling at him.

“Miss ... Madame ... Netza’cui...” Campbell stammered, struggling with her odd name.

“You may call me Ensi,” Netza’cui’atl said with an orange flurry from her feathery headdress, “it is customary.”

“Er ... very well ... Ensi,” Campbell continued. “My name is Chief Engineer Campbell, Captain Fielding of the Rorke has sent me to oversee the preparations and refits.”

“Of course, welcome, Chief Engineer. There is a delegation of Val’ba’ra’nay industrialists and scientists here to meet with you, they’ve traveled here from all over the planet. They’re very excited by the blueprints that you have shared with us, and they’re eager to learn Earth’nay manufacturing techniques. Allow us to carry your equipment,” she said as she looked over at the yellow-clad men, already sitting on their crates beside the dropships and wiping their brows in the sweltering heat.

“I assure you Ensi, that won’t be necessary,” Campbell said as he fiddled with the topmost button on his tight collar. A group of maybe two dozen Valbarans wearing forest camo jumpsuits flooded past him, the engineers hopping off their boxes as the little aliens lifted them effortlessly. There were four of them to a crate, loads that four or five of the engineers had struggled to carry between them. They marched them out of the hangar and out of view, the engineering team hurrying along after them as they shared confused glances.

“I’ll just ... follow the rest of my team...”

He jogged off towards the open doors of the hangar, one of the Krell breaking ranks to follow after him. It seemed as if both the engineers and the military advisors had been assigned a Krell guard. Next, a man wearing a blue UNN uniform stepped forward, and Jaeger could see that the insignia on his breast identified him as a Colonel. He was more fastidious than Campbell, standing straight with his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

“I’m Colonel Roberts of the UNN Marine corps, Ensi. I have been tasked with instructing your soldiers in the use of our weapons and briefing them on our battlefield tactics. My job is to ensure that we can work together effectively in a combat situation.”

“Welcome, Colonel Roberts,” she replied with another red flush of her feathers. Roberts was attentive, he had seen how Jaeger and Baker had responded to the gesture, saluting her in turn. She raised one of her arms, the humans watching as the tentacle-like sheath extended, opening up to reveal the colorful feathers. She flashed a pattern, more complex than most, and one of the camouflaged soldiers stepped out of the line to make her way towards them.

“This is Toch’tzin’teotl, she and her flock command the city guard in Yilgarn. She will be your liaison during your stay.”

“Very good,” Roberts said, turning to gesture to his men. They slung rucksacks over their shoulders, carrying cases and crates out of the dropships, no doubt full of spare XMR parts and other such gear with which to train the Valbarans. Jaeger noted that they didn’t give the aliens the opportunity to swoop in and take charge as they had with the engineers. A contingent of the Valbaran soldiers split off and followed after them, the commander at their head, and Roberts whistled to his Krell guard.

“Come on, Reesh, let’s double time it.”

The giant reptile rumbled affirmatively, lumbering along after them. The Ensi watched him pass, her violet eyes wide with wonder.

“That must be a Krell’nay,” she mused, “I had hoped that I might see one in person. It is magnificent.”

“Don’t worry, they’re a lot friendlier than they look,” Baker said.

“And you two must be the Beewolf pilots, Lieutenants Baker and Jaeger. You are the ones who fought with our squadron in the asteroid field. Maza’xol’natuih speaks most highly of you in her reports. I would thank you for your assistance on behalf of the Val’ba’ra’nay, but it would be insufficient to express the gratitude that we all feel. We have been preparing for the insect invasion for twenty rotations, ever since the tragedy on Ker’gue’la. Yet in the very moment that they prepare to launch their assault, the Earth’nay and their allies appear to save us. It is fate.”

“From where we were standing, it felt more like your squadron was pulling ‘us’ out of the fire,” Jaeger replied. “We’re happy to help, the Coalition exists to fight Betelgeusians.”

“Can you explain this name to me, ‘Betelgeusian’?” the Ensi asked. “What does it mean?”

“We first encountered them in a star system known as Betelgeuse. It turned out that they weren’t native to that system, but the name stuck. Our people up in orbit are already sending you all the data that we have on them, I’m sure.”

“Your Captain tells me that you are to serve as ambassadors, is that correct? In such a case, I will leave you in the capable hands of Maza’xol’natuih and her flock, they will be tasked with assisting you during your stay. Please, walk beside me,” the Ensi said as she set off towards the hangar doors in her bobbing gait.

“Hang on,” Baker said, “I’ll fetch our gear.” He jogged off towards one of the dropships, mounting the landing ramp and vanishing from view for a few moments. When he emerged, he was carrying two loaded rucksacks. He tossed one to Jaeger as he neared, who caught it by the strap and slung it over his shoulders. They contained MREs, a change of clothes, and a few other items that they might need during their visit.

Baker and Jaeger followed the Ensi as she set off, Maza staying by his side, her companions hurrying after them.

“It shames me,” the Ensi began, “but I must soon depart to oversee preparations and to treat with your Captain. Being separated from one’s flock is difficult, as I’m sure you can appreciate, one must rely solely on one’s own judgment. But that is necessary for an Ensi, there is too much to oversee for just one Val’ba’ra’nay.”

“Uh ... sure,” Jaeger replied, “I can understand that.”

In reality, he had no idea what she was talking about. She didn’t seem to rule alone, she spoke of having a group of other Ensi who filled the same role as her. In fact, none of the people that she had introduced had been alone, were they all part of a flock? Was it so unusual for a Valbaran to act on their own initiative? That might explain why Maza always had to rush off to huddle with her friends before taking any action.

As he emerged from beneath the shade of the hangar, Jaeger had to shield his eyes against the glare of the sun, the white architecture of the circular city and the innumerable windows shining like beacons. From where he was standing, he could see the cluster of skyscrapers in the city center and the tips of the tower blocks, but everything else was obscured by the trees and foliage. If he didn’t know better, he might have assumed that the spaceport was located in the middle of the countryside.

There was a gentle breeze that helped to stave off some of the heat and humidity, rustling the leaves of what looked like palm and conifer trees. Most had green leaves, but some were stained purple, perhaps it was another kind of photosynthetic plant that had evolved in parallel with the more familiar variety? The sky above him was a deep blue, with a few wisps of white cloud visible, the system’s star a fiery ball of pale light that made him wish that he had brought a pair of sunglasses and some sunscreen with him.

He could make out more Valbaran vessels parked in the hangars, mostly more landers, likely the primary method that the aliens used to ferry personnel and supplies into orbit. They must use some kind of heavy lifters too, chemical rockets maybe, because there was no way that they could have transported the necessary materials to build those defense platforms using such small ships.

“I’m curious as to what you make of our city,” the Ensi said, leading them along a winding path that snaked between the trees at the edge of the runway.

“It’s very impressive,” Jaeger replied, “it seems to be very carefully planned out.”

“Should it not be?” Maza asked, confused.